tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6765032191535282472017-09-24T08:02:06.197+01:00Irish Historyin compendiary format.Histornoreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-65206893505515284792013-11-07T19:19:00.000+00:002013-11-07T19:19:00.027+00:00Deposed English Queen
The deposed queen of England Alditha fled to Ireland after the resistance to the Norman invasion led by her brothers Edwin and Morcar ended in their defeat. After Hastings in 1067 she gave birth to the deceased king’s son and named him Harold after his father. The infant travelled with her to Dublin around 1069/70 and both disappear from recorded history thereafter. King Harold's mother, Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-34847736482482586852013-10-30T18:55:00.001+00:002013-10-30T19:37:05.581+00:00Halloween, its Irish roots
As millions of children and adults prepare to participate in the fun of Halloween on the night of October 31st, few will be aware of its ancient Celtic roots in the Samain or in modern Irish Samhain (p. S-owin) festival. In Celtic Ireland about 2,000 years ago, Samhain was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter). At Samhain the division between Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-47564381195276720852013-09-09T19:09:00.000+01:002013-10-30T19:29:19.904+00:00Polygamy & Divorce in ancient Ireland
Old Irish law tracts give pride of place to a man’s one official wife, the "first in the household" (cetmuinter), who normally contributed movable property of her own to the joint housekeeping and was entitled to receive it back, with any accumulated profits, if the couple divorced later.
Divorce could be initiated by either the husband or the wife, on a number of grounds. A wife, for exampleHistornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-77191406364056969622013-08-05T19:07:00.000+01:002013-10-30T19:27:38.953+00:00Scot means Irish
The Book of Armagh declares the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru to be “Imperator Scottorum” or “Emperor of the Irish”. Ireland was named by the Romans “Scotia” and its people Scoti. The invasion of Irish tribes of northern Britain led it acquiring the name “Scotland” or land of the Irish.
A 9th century philosophiser working on the continent writes his name as Johannes Scotus Eriugena - John Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-69039350522531389652013-07-10T19:04:00.000+01:002013-10-30T19:30:25.302+00:00Ancient hospitals - foras tuaithe.
Over a thousand years before Florence Nightingale and health insurance or national health service the ancient Irish had laws dictating hygiene standards for hospitals and persons unable to pay for their treatment were treated free of charge paid for by the community. This sets Ireland apart from the rest of Europe which too had hospitals but only for the élite except in times of war when Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-43386700748642258112013-06-01T18:58:00.000+01:002013-10-30T19:23:26.264+00:00Healing with music
40% of the ancient metal horns which survive in the world are Irish! The island of Ireland is particularly noted for its great collection of ancient musical instruments. Spanning more than 3000 years from the Late Stone Age through to the Early Medieval Period (4200BC – 1000AD), they reflect the evolvement of many changes in Irish culture. Great feats of bronze casting and sheet metal work wereHistornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-74490719255848445252013-05-30T14:43:00.000+01:002013-05-30T14:43:00.302+01:00Irish Female Family Names
Female Gaelic surnames differ from male
surnames because girls & women could not be a son or grandson!
Accordingly, Ó (from Ua meaning grandson of) is replaced with Ní and Mac
(meaning son of) is replaced with Nic. These are contractions of the original form of the female surnames "Iníon Uí" and "Iníon Mhic" (modern O and Mac). The naming system worked like this
The forename is placed Histornoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-6358612264151958802013-05-23T14:37:00.000+01:002013-05-23T14:37:00.036+01:00Fairy Rings
Fairy beliefs - practically every article
written on the subject of fairies suggests that people once believed in
them. It is true to say that people would avoid certain actions for fear
of tempting fate rather than actually believing in fairies.
The modern world of science has similar parallels for example one of
the world’s most popular sports, Formula 1 is purely based on science,
Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-47273895485992041652013-05-16T14:33:00.000+01:002013-05-16T14:33:00.754+01:00Making Irish surnames English In 1518 a City
Council decreed “neither O' nor Mac shall strut and swagger through the
streets of Galway”. The names of the native Irish male population all
began with O’ or Mac meaning “grandson of” or “son of”
followed by the personal name of the ancestor. In the late 16th century
the Irish nation under duress began the process of changing their
surnames to be more English sounding. TheHistornoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-78150266698124484972013-05-09T14:30:00.000+01:002013-05-09T14:30:02.991+01:00The Two Patricks et al
St. Patrick was not Irish, St George was not
English, St Andrew was not Scottish and of the four nations only the
Welsh St. David is a native patron saint. St. Patrick was not Welsh or
English as it is sometimes claimed in error because Wales
and England did not exist in Patrick’s time. He was a Romano-Briton
meaning of a Roman family living in Roman colonial Britain prior to the
Histornoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-52553362042321891512013-05-02T14:27:00.000+01:002013-05-02T14:27:00.592+01:00The Noble Hound
In early Irish society dogs were considered
noble creatures possessing aspiring qualities like intelligence,
loyalty, companionship, guardianship, speed and agility, the very human
qualities imperative for survival in all early societies especially
for warriors. Heroes in both real life and mythology were given names
with “dog” or more specifically “hound” in the title like Cú Chulainn,
Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-15223340763970758742013-04-25T14:21:00.000+01:002013-04-25T14:21:00.308+01:00Animals in river names.
Celtic peoples held
lakes and rivers to be sacred as evinced from their mythology. According
to the myths the rivers Shannon and the Boyne were created by
goddesses. The sacred nature of water is also evident in the
archaeological record due to the many finds of votive offerings of
precious objects in watery places. Sometimes river names reveal creation
myths not by gods but by Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-68447089385205443982013-04-18T14:16:00.000+01:002013-04-18T14:16:00.606+01:00Early Medieval Ireland and advanced engineeringThe oldest tidal mill so far discovered in the world
belongs to Monastery of Nendrum on Mahee Island on Strangford Lough in
Co. Down.The first tidal mill was constructed there between 619 and
621AD making it older than the previously earliest known tidal mill at
Little Island in Co. Cork which dates from about 630AD. The Cork mill is
a A twin flume horizontal-wheeled tide mill. As the nameHistornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-56261327175711813242013-04-11T14:13:00.000+01:002013-04-11T14:13:00.636+01:00Easter day and the foundation of western science
Predicting the date when Easter Sunday will fall is necessary
when the church decided to place a 40 day fast in advance of it. Such an
endeavour is not as easy as it may seem as it involves reconciling
two irreconcilable calendars the lunar and solar. The month is named
after the moon because each month is approximately the duration of a
single moon cycle. The average number of days Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-49644000263304391802013-01-10T11:00:00.000+00:002013-01-10T11:00:01.399+00:00Prince John in Ireland
In the early 1180s Hugh de Lacy, lord of Mide (Meath) (who had recently married King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair’s daughter) intended to make himself king in Ireland and it caused such alarm among the Norman rulers of England that they urgently d
ecided to send prince John to Ireland. In the winter of 1184-1185, Lacy was recalled and Archbishop John Cumin of Dublin was sent ahead to prepare the way. Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-44355851881127203302013-01-01T06:00:00.000+00:002013-01-01T06:00:11.831+00:00The Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Four Masters are mainly a compilation of earlier annals, although there is some original work. They were compiled between 1632 and 1636 in the Franciscan friary in Donegal Town. The entries for the twelfth century and befo
re are sourced from medieval annals of the community. The later entries come from the records of the Irish aristocracy (such as the Annals of Ulster) and Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-92161180084615698132012-12-31T05:00:00.000+00:002012-12-31T05:00:09.686+00:00Knights Templar
The Templars were founded around 1119 by Hugh de Payens for the protection of pilgrims to the Holy Land. Initially guided by the Rule of St. Augustine they later adopted Cistercian practices under the influence of St. Bernard. After securin
g ecclesiastical approval at the Council of Troyes (1129), the order spread rapidly and increased in wealth, prestige, and influence.
The earliest Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-46374129086252951192012-12-27T14:30:00.000+00:002012-12-27T14:30:01.746+00:00Medieval Irish Science
Seventh-century Ireland was well-known as an island of saints and scholars. But what of science? In fact, Ireland in the Early Middle Ages led the way in terms of serious scientific engagement with the physical universe and the attempt to understand the nature of the created world. The famous studies of Archbishop James Ussher in the seventeenth century have their antecedents in the efforts of Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-53611470842107944922012-12-26T08:30:00.000+00:002012-12-26T08:30:00.510+00:00Irish Wolf
There are a considerable number of Irish place names associated with wolves A few of these are in English, for example, Wolf Island in Lough Gill, but the vast majority of them are embedded in Irish place names. This is because there are a
number of Irish words for wolves, including Mac-tire, e.g. the townland of Isknamacteera in Co Kerry; and faolchu, e.g. Feltrim Hill, Co Dublin. There are Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-24730469652419246422012-12-24T09:00:00.000+00:002013-05-29T19:54:08.120+01:00Guinness
The name "Guinness" is derived from "Mag Aongus" meaning son of Aongus who in mythology was a
member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably a god of love, youth and
poetic inspiration. Aon = one and gus = choice thus literally meaning
one choice but more accurately translated as 'chosen one'. In Irish
orthography "Mac" meaning "son of" changes to
"Mag" when the following name begins with a Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-65334571322768323472012-12-22T07:00:00.000+00:002012-12-22T07:00:04.639+00:00Commonplace Irish Words
The Irish language in everyday usage. - Mac is the Irish language word for son sometimes abbreviated to Mc in surnames. McIntosh is a transliteration of ‘Mac an Taoiseach’ which in turn translates as son of the chieftain. Nowadays however i
t would translate as son of the prime minister for ‘Taoiseach’ is the title given to the Irish Prime Minster. The source of the McIntosh surname is from theHistornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-59563336933492795402012-12-19T19:15:00.000+00:002012-12-19T19:15:01.229+00:00Magic - Biblical Wise menThe English word 'Magic' is derived from the
Magi or the story of the wise kings from the nativity. Similarly
the Irish word for 'magic' is 'draíocht' formed from draoi + -acht
meaning Druid like. Originally, like the Druids in Ireland
like the Magi were the priests of an ancient religion. Sometime in the
course of the fifth century BC the Greeks started to use the term for
those engaged Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-2139798865023536482012-12-19T07:30:00.000+00:002012-12-19T07:30:04.562+00:00Newgrange Winter Solstice
Once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor. This alignment is too precise to be widely considered to be formed by chance. Professor M. J. O'Kelly was the first person in modern times to observe this event on December 21, 1967. The sun enters the passage through a specially Histornoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-27717875604258424902012-12-17T09:30:00.000+00:002012-12-17T09:30:03.301+00:00Viking longboat project
A photo of a replica Viking longboat, which was launched in Waterford city on the 25 Nov 2012. The vessel is modelled on one of the famous Viking ships found at Roskilde, in Denmark. An analysis of the wood used in its construction shows t
hat one of these ships (Skuldelev 2) came from the Dublin area in Ireland with timbers felled in 1042-1043 AD. In about the year 1070 the inhabitants of Histornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676503219153528247.post-55558822163181200002012-12-12T12:00:00.000+00:002012-12-12T12:00:02.083+00:00Scandinavian Dublin
Fine Gall (literally, kindred of the foreigners) was the name given to a stretch of territory north of the River Liffey that was ruled by the Scandinavians of Dublin. It thus developed after the foundation of the longport in 841, at the hei
ght of the Viking incursions. Today the name "Fingal" still applies to the area north of the city from the River Tolka to the Devlin River near Gormanstown.Histornoreply@blogger.com0